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CIA Director Leon E. Panetta made a plea Friday for “turning down the volume” a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused his agency of lying to her in 2002 about interrogations of suspected terrorists and of lying again now about having briefed her.

“The political debates about interrogation reached a new decibel level yesterday when the CIA was accused of misleading Congress,” Mr. Panetta said in a memo to his employees.

“Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. That is against our laws and our values,” Mr. Panetta said.

Though he didn’t mention Mrs. Pelosi by name, Mr. Panetta took on her charge head-on, pointing to CIA records that showed she was in fact briefed on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on Sept. 4, 2002.

Mrs. Pelosi on Thursday continued to deny that the CIA said it was using the tactics, including waterboarding, at that 2002 briefing. She said the CIA said only that it believed waterboarding was legal, but specifically told her they were not using the tactic.

At her weekly press briefing Wednesday Mrs. Pelosi was asked if she was accusing CIA of lying to her, and she said “Yes.”